


Quizzical Drabbles

by Gingervora



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff without Plot, eep first post on AO3, just a lot of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-19
Updated: 2015-03-19
Packaged: 2018-03-18 15:31:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3574687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gingervora/pseuds/Gingervora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just some Rona/Cullen drabbles I had on my tumblr that I want to save here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The Skyhold was scarcely light, something she’d have to remember to bring to someone’s attention. How could she work in the garden at night in these conditions?

She woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, not quite sure what she was dreaming about, and when she couldn’t fall back asleep, she went down the garden in her nightwear to garden. Rona had hoped that pulling weeds and tending to the plants would eventually tire her out, but ended up having the opposite effect of focusing her mind and keeping her awake.

"You know, I wasn’t expecting one of my guards to report that you were up at the latest hours digging in the dirt."

Rona hastily looked up, seeing her lover leaning against one of the stone pillars, still in his armor.

"You know, you should probably be asleep right now," she told him, a smile tugging at her lips as she set down her tools.

"I could say the same thing for you, Rona." She could tell he was serious, but she noticed his smile. "What are you doing?"

"Well, gardening," she told him with a shrug.

"In your nightwear? Maker, it’s freezing out here. Why are you out here?" he pushed as he took a few steps towards her.

"I couldn’t sleep."

"You know some people read books when they can’t fall asleep," he teased but his smile dropped right when her’s did. Cullen sat down on the ground next to her, his hands fiddled with some strings to pull of his paladrons, draping them around her shoulders.

"I…" Rona began, biting her lips. "I like to garden. Reminds me of scouting for supplies when I was with my clan. Besides…" Her green eyes glanced towards his brown ones, wondering if this was the right time to tell him. "Besides, I can’t really read."

His eyes briefly widened in surprise and she winced at the expression. “You’ve read our reports well enough,” he thought aloud.

"I know a few words and I can guess what they mean, especially since you guys pretty much tell me about them as you present them." The elven woman sighed. "Dalish don’t exactly have much desire to learn your letters, you know. I know a bit because I was the First, I was expected to take over the clan eventually and it might be handy, but even with what our Keeper taught me, I never got the hang of it."

"Do you want someone to…?" Cullen began but Rona shook her head.

"Maybe when we’re a little less busy, but I’ve managed fine." Her hands tugged at the paladrons on her shoulders, pulling them closer. They smelled like him, she realized. "Hey, what are you doing up so late?"  
Cullen blushed lightly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. “I’m not that big on sleeping either. Anyways, there’s always work to be done.”

"And you jumped to come to my rescue when you got that report?"

"More or less," he chuckled, placing a kiss on her forehead. "I’m always concerned for you. You know that."

"Ever considered taking up gardening?" she joked lightly, a small laugh coming to life.

"I think you’ve got that covered. Feel free to come to me if you can’t sleep. I won’t mind," Cullen told her and she nodded, a loud yawn escaping her mouth.

"Oh my, looks like I’ve finally grown tired." Rona looked up to him with a smile. "Carry me?"

He chuckled, his chin dropping to his chest. “Of course.” Pulling her into his arms, he lifted her bridal style as he stood. Rona simply held on to the paladrons and rested her head on his chest. “Sleep well, Rona.


	2. With All My Heart

The elven woman tugging at her hair was never a good sign. She twisted it around her fingers then letting it slip through her grasp, rarely familiar to how short her clan had cut it for her, so Cullen was told. A sinking feeling fell around him and his heart sank. This wasn’t going to be good.

The ex-templar watched her as she bit her lower lip, the way she just barely avoided his gaze, like she was watching him carefully but wouldn’t dare to look him in the eyes.

"I think we need to break up, Cullen," she blurted out, quickly shutting her eyes and turning slightly away from him. A slight glimmer shown from the corner of her eyes, but the man didn’t know what to make of it.

He wanted to be okay with it. He felt it was coming, at least. Words struggled against his tongue as he tried to string together something, anything. Finally, what came out was:

“Why?”

Rona opened her eyes, glancing over at him. That wasn’t the response she was expecting, apparently.

"Why?" she repeated, her hands resting over her chest instead of playing with her hair.

"Yes, why. Why now? Why, Rona?" he asked and without noticing he had thrown his hands down on the table. A few of his papers scattered about and a glass on his desk rattled but nothing more. He took in a deep breath and resigned himself to his chair. "Please," he begged.

"I…" the Dalish elf began. Either she hadn’t expected him to ask why she wanted to split up or words didn’t come easily to her either. Honestly, he thought, it could be both. "I… I’m going to die!"

"What?" Cullen quickly stood from his chair and took a step towards her but at the same time she took a step back. Even from where he stood, he could see her shaking. How could he not have noticed that before? "What’s going on? What do you mean? Are you alright?"

A meek smile played on her lips but it quickly dissipated, glad he was concerned but knowing what she had to do.

"I’m not… I’m not dying, but I can’t…” She shook her head, a hand coming up to quickly dry her eyes. “I can’t feel this way about you knowing I could probably die at any point. A-and I can’t let you feel that way about me, either.”

"So you’re deciding for me?" he calmly asked, seeing how upset she was he couldn’t bear to be angry at her. He wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t ever concerned about her safety, wondering if one day she simply wouldn’t return to Skyhold, to him.

"This doesn’t look good for me! I’ve narrowly escaped death too many times. My luck won’t hold out forever. Or if I do survive, no one wants to keep around a Dalish mage, not after I’ve extended my… use. And I couldn’t expect you to just drop everything and come with me, whatever happens. Please, Cullen, think this through," she pleaded, her voice straining and he could tell she was holding back tears. For each step he took closer to her, she took two.

"Cullen!" Rona cried. "Having magic, I’m always a target and it’s caused nothing but misery. I care about you too much to let you be apart of that." He could even see the fear in her eyes. Not of him, but what she could do to him. She was so concerned for his sake that he might’ve felt happy if that concern wasn’t leading to their imminent break up.

"Lavellan," he sighed wistfully. "None of that will happen. Even if it did, you have to understand, I would rather be by your side than ‘safe’.” She shook her head, either unwilling or unable to believe it. “I never thought I would find a new life here, or these feelings I thought were undeserving of me. You’ve given me something no one else can. I want to stay by your side.” He chuckled softly. “With your blessing, that is.”

"You would stay with me?" she timidly asked, her feet moving towards him just a little. "You don’t mind any of… that? You don’t mind being with a mage?"

"I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a thousand times more, I love you. Magic and all. It makes no difference to me so long as you’re by my side." A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, watching her fearful and sad expression turn a little more hopeful.

"Truly?"

"With all my heart." Cullen reached out, taking her hands into his and leaning toward to kiss her forehead. "Please, just no more break ups for my sake."

She choked out a small laugh, her cheeks wet with tears. “I promise.”


	3. With Great Power

Her hands fidgeted with themselves, twirling around each other, opening and closing, just anything to keep them busy as she walked the battlements of Skyhold. These hands that held so much power in them. Not with a punch or a matter of force, but the magic they controlled.

She hated it.

Living in a world where magic was feared, locked away, looked upon with distaste, and for the longest time she used to agree. She used to think she was cursed with horrible power, that one day she might wake up and wouldn’t be herself anymore, that she might hurt someone and no be able to control it, or that she might kill someone.

Of course, that was a long time ago, and a mixture of time and the Keeper’s guidance mellowed her rage, helping her control her powers, but those kinds of thoughts were the kind that liked to resurface, to torment her. It didn’t help that everyone around her liked to remind her how evil magic was, what a danger it was to be around. Rona tried to imagine the voice of her Keeper calmly telling her that magic was a tool and not something to be frightened of, but it was hard to do after being gone from her side for so long.

But maybe she had the next best thing.

"Cullen I need to talk with you," where the first words out of her mouth as she entered his tower, before she saw the group that was around his desk. All of them looking up - well, down, she guessed, since they were all humans - at her as she entered. "It’s, uh, important," she awkwardly added. After all this time dealing with shems, she would’ve thought that she’d have gotten used to their stares.

"Dismissed," Cullen told the group, though it was apparent they weren’t done. An offer to return later didn’t even cross her thoughts. She needed comfort, she needed someone to talk to. "Are you alright?" Oh, no not that face. He looked overly concerned, but maybe that was always the case.

"I just… I need to talk with you," the elf confessed, her arms hugging her body.

"Is something the matter?" he asked. "Are we… is it-"

"No, no, nothing like that. We’re…" she managed a smile, "we’re fine. I’m just… I just - I need to talk. Is that fine?"

"Of course that’s fine," he confirmed, circling around his desk and leaning on it. The look of concern that graced his features didn’t go away. "You can tell me anything."

"I- I just, um," Rona began, still hanging by the door. "Wow this was so much easier with Istimaethoriel."

"Istima-" Cullen shook his head, cutting himself off. "Who?"

"My clan’s Keeper. She… she used to help me when I felt down or mad about…" Her words trailed off, her gaze falling to the ground.

"Rona," the man sighed, pushing himself up from his spot on the table to walk over to her. "I can’t help you if you can’t tell me what’s going on. What’s wrong?"

"Magic hurts people!" she blurted out, her eyes meeting his again, seeing something familiar in them she couldn’t quite place. "I used to hurt people, before Istimaethoriel helped me. She helped me. I got better. I wasn’t so angry at myself, with the world. But here? Everyone’s in a rush to tell me how I’ll hurt people, how I’m a danger to everyone.”

Tears ran down her cheeks, but she didn’t know she was crying until Cullen began to wipe them away.

"The Dalish aren’t taught that magic was inherently evil, but the rest of the clan is supposed to hunt down their Keepers, their Firsts, their Seconds if they… we become abominations. Our jobs are mages is to teach and help in our clans, but we’re also a burden. We have to move around so often. It’s because of us. Because of mages.” At this point, she was full on crying, sobbing as she leaned in to him, feeling his arms wrap around her.

"How can you stand to be around me?" she quietly asked.

Cullen sighed. Tired, perhaps, of this question? Or maybe he was concerned for her. Still, the way her brain was wired, she could only think he was disappointed in her for bringing it up again, but all she needed to hear was that she was fine, that being a mage made no difference to him, that he’d love her regardless.

"I don’t need to force myself to be around you, Rona," he whispered, his hand smoothing down her hair like he usually did when she was in pain. A different sort of pain, this time. "I enjoy your company. You’re strong and kind. Never did I think I’d find someone like you in my life, much less willing to accept who I am, what I’ve done. I love you just as you are, as you do the same for me."

Looking up at the commander, seeing his soft expression, his loving gaze, Rona threw her arms around him. “That was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you, Cullen. Thank you so much.”

"There’s no need to thank me. I love you. That’s all there is."

She leaned up and kissed him. “You’re wrong. There’s always more.”


	4. Painful Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is from Cullen's POV

His eyes kept glancing out his window, a report in his hand and chatter from his soldiers filling his ears, but only really one thing on his mind: Where was she? The streams of light that filtered through the hole in the wall died out as the sun set and still she had not come to visit him.

"Inquisitor Lavellan came back today?" Cullen asked aloud. One of his soldiers grinned foolishly, earning a sharp look in his direction by the commander. Another soldier simply nodded.

"Aye, sir. A few hours ago," she informed him.

"Strange," he muttered under his breath before finishing up his work and waving his people away. Rona usually stopped by his tower first thing when she returned to Skyhold. Perhaps something came up or she was too tired on her return trip and took a nap?

His hands reached for another report, something to keep his hands and mind busy but the only thing on his mind was the elven woman he held so dear. Without hesitation, he left his tower to find her.

"Josephine?" Cullen called for as he opened the door to her office, making a bit grander of an entrance than he realized, a few people circled around her desk looking up towards him.

"Yes…?" the diplomat curiously replied, a brow raised with suspicion. Absently, his hand raised to rub his neck. Was it that unusual he stopped by?

"I was wondering - have you seen the Inquisitor anywhere?" he carefully asked. A smile graced the ambassador’s lips as she tilted her head slightly.

"Whatever for?" Oh now she was just teasing him.

"Maker’s breath," he sighed, ready to leave. "I’ll just-"

"She’s in her room, if you must know. Said something about needing to rest for a bit. She looked a little pale when I last saw her, mind you," Josephine quickly remedied, giving him one last look before returning to her duties.

A quick thank you was all he said before slipping out of her office, a heavy sigh of relief escaping him, thankful to be out of there. Though he knew where she was, his worried thought couldn’t leave him be and without delay, his feet began to lead him up the stairs to her room, barely knocking on the door before he entered.

"Rona?" he called out, just moments before he saw her laying on the bed, tucked under her covers with barely half of her gear tossed aside. Her brown hair plastered to skin with sweat and her right hand tightly gripping her wrist. Cullen quickly ran to her side, taking a place at the edge of her bed. His hands busied themselves by smoothing back her hair, checking her temperature and pulling up her blanket to cover her more.

"Cullen, I’m fine," she told him with a weak laugh, but her body shook and she curled up more, holding the mark close to herself.

"You don’t look ‘fine’ to me," the man sighed. "What’s wrong?" His eyes scanned her over, settling on her hands. "I though you told everyone that it didn’t hurt."

Tears pooled in her eyes, threatening to fall soon. “N-not… not usually,” she confessed, rolling onto her other side to face him.

"You take care of me so much, my love. Let me take care of you," the commander told her, his hands reaching out to hold hers but she pulled them closer to her chest.

"It’ll go away soon, I promise," she tried to convince him, but he’d have none of it.

"I’m staying. And I’m taking care of you. Just tell me what you need and I’ll obey," he whispered to her and her pained expression slowly softened, hey sparkling green eyes taking him in.

"Just… just hold me," Rona eventually told him and a smile spread across his lips.

"I can do that." And he laid down beside her, his arms scooping her up as he pulled her close to him. Her body still shook from the pain caused by the mark, but she seemed… more calm in his embrace. Slowly she began to drift off, her body settling down as she slept. "Sleep well," he whispered, pressing his lips against her forehead before sleep washed over him as well.


End file.
